4. The Seige
“We come, we come with roll of drum: ta-runda runda runda rom!
We come, we come with horn and drum: ta-rūna rūna rūna rom!
To Isengard! Though Isengard be ringed and barred with doors of stone;
Though Isengard be strong and hard, as cold as stone and bare as bone,
We go, we go, we go to war, to hew the stone and break the door;
For bole and bough are burning now, the furnace roars - we go to war!
To land of gloom with tramp of doom, with roll of drum, we come, we come;
To Isengard with doom, we come!
With doom we come, with doom we come!
To Isengard with doom, we come!”
Recalling the lyrics from one of my favorite into-battle songs. I sang the slow and mighty beat. My arms crossed, eyes ahead as I sang the tune in a deep voice, my words roaring over the deck.
“Interesting song, I quite like it. Might I have one of my drones write it down for a latter date? Perhaps we could use something like it for a battle tune.” Queen Carapace asked, rubbing her cheek as we sailed over the dried and brown Badlands. The two other battleships following us from behind.
I smiled, remembering the author. “Sure, so long as you don’t put me down as the author. That right belongs to J.R. Tolkien. He’s the author of the song and book series back on earth.”
“Ah, I see.” I’d told Carapace of my origin, though she thought I was crazy at first. But thankfully, Blueblood stepped in to confirm my claim. I’d also shared it with him on our journey here.
“Forgive me if I’m touching on a sore subject, but why did Chrysalis take your daughter? If you don’t want to answer, you don’t have to.” I gave her an unsure and sympathetic look, hoping to ease her pain.
“No, it’s quite alright.” Carapace took a breath before starting. “Not long after her campaign against the ‘insufferable ponies’ and failed attempt to conquer the Equestrian capital, we Changelings held a meeting to discuss our fate. Now that Chrysalis had thrust us into the light, we had little choice but to extend our hands in an alliance with the ponies. I was head of this division. Opting to settle for peace than an ugly war. Which is what Chrysalis’ wanted; war.
“Upon my decision, many joined me. As well as Chrysalis’ former supporters, to whom she cursed and spat at. A fight almost broke out, but was stopped by Ugthin, Queen of the Summit. After more bickering, Chrysalis tried to threaten me. But was stopped by the other Queens and was stripped of her title and cast out from our society. Now she’s foalnapped my daughter in hopes of me begging her.” She finished her tale with a snort filled with annoyance. I also detected a bit of rage as she tried to hide it.
Upon thinking of the battleships, I asked. “Did she know of your ships? I’m sure she wouldn’t have taken her if she knew.”
Carapace rolled her eyes. “You’d be surprised what she misses while admiring her hooves, instead of paying attention to our speeches. The hag never bats an eye until something she thinks will benefit her comes along. Which is nearly nothing we have. She’s now a rouge. No longer deserving of the title ‘Queen’. Chrysalis’ hive was the lowest in the Hive Council, now it’s lower than the omega drones now that she’s been cast out.”
“Omega drones?”
Upon seeing my confusion, she explained. “Omega drones are the ones who act as servants, though I allow mine to receive the same benefits as the others.”
I nodded in understanding, figuring it would’ve been like how wolves do things. But, it being a changeling hive, I didn’t know what to expect.
“My Queen!” Shouted a drone as he came to Carapace’s right, sporting silver tipped wings. Probably something to do with a higher rank.
“Yes, my son?” The Queen asked, resting her hands on her hips.
“We’re coming up on Chrysalis’ hive, a large amount of her drones are ready for an attack. Your orders, Mother?”
She smirked in response. Is there some joke I missed? With my ears, maybe. I’ve heard I have good ears, but I often stare off into space and miss a lot.
“Ready the SDs.”
The drone gave an evil smile before saluting and running off. “Yes ma’am.”
“SDs?” I asked in curiosity. A brow raised.
“Sonic Disruptors.” She clarified, her smile never leaving her face.
I too gained an evil smirk as I popped my knuckles. “This’ll be fun.”
Carapace gave a laugh, “Indeed.”
We waited several minutes until the black and green drones came into view, patient as a snake ready to strike. Until the Queen let loose a breath, “Fire.”
The ship rocked and groaned as two silver disks were launched from the hull, hissing through the air. As soon as they reached the drones the disks exploded, massive waves of sound following. Each wave beat on the poor drones as an axe on wood, threatening to split their head open with such force. Yet when I looked to Carapace’s drone, they were unaffected. How? Ah, I’ll ask latter.
One by one the drones fell, screaming in pain as blood gushed from their ears. As we passed the ones who managed to stay airborne, red and green clashed. The green drones falling like rain. But once we came close to the hive’s walls, things went south. Upon reaching the walls, five massive behemoths leapt from their perches and dangled from the ship’s railing. Bashing their fists against the hull, their four arms crushing the wood and iron. The drones managed to shoot one in the face with a canon but were crushed before anymore could be done.
I turned at hearing claws on wood, only to look a six-eyed behemoth in the face, its four mandibles stretching outward as it roared. Gobs of spit flew into my face as I mentally cringed. This was my first battle after all, I was lucky not to be a crying mess on the floor. Gripping my sword’s hilt tighter, I trust the blade up into its jaw. A sickening crack echoed in my ears as the tip breached the cranium. The sludge that acted as the brain spilled from the wound and onto the hilt, sickening me further. A shutter rolled down my spine.
I then ripped the sword from the beast’s head and watched as the behemoth slumped over. And after a moment the body slid off the deck, falling until it was impaled by one of the many spires of the fortress. My head suddenly napped to the left as several drones held back another giant, its hands and legs bound by grapple hooks. Since its head was trying and failing to snap at them, the ropes holding it at bay, I decided to end this. I grasped a dangling rope and used what was left of the ship’s railing to cross a fight between several changelings. Angling myself at a ninety-degree from the behemoth’s side, I raised my sword and brought it down on its neck. A second later, I landed as hulking body and head fell at my feet. I looked around for anything else I could help with, only to find a massive fist collide with my head. I was sent sprawling through the air, landing with my head daggling over empty sky. My eyes cracked open, vision bleared, to see yet another behemoth stood over me. Its eyes full of hate and wrath. Its yellow teeth snarling down at me, mandibles ready to skewer me. It let out a roar of victory, beating its chest with all four fists. I felt nothing in my hands. I was defenseless. Doomed.
Then, something inside me snapped. A vast rage flooded my mind, filling every fibber of my being. Though, in all honesty, I’ve always had a temper. But what happened next, baffles me to this day. A warm heat built in my chest, spreading throughout my body. I released a roar of my own, a jet of white hot, orange flame erupting from my throat. The creature leapt back in surprise, covering its face to shield itself from the fires. Though through the cry of pain it made, I knew it was burned. Still under the influence of my anger, I mentally dismissed the flames and scrambled to my feet after finishing the battle cry. Extending my claws to their full length, I flexed my hands the get the blood flowing before releasing another rage filled cry.
I then felt another presence in my mind, it’d always been there, yet I’d just heard its voice and felt its anger. We came here to liberate the Princesses of Equestria and the Elements of Harmony, and that’s what we’d do. And nothing was going to stand in OUR WAY!! NOTHING!!! WE WOULD RATHER CARVE OFF OUR CLAWS THAN FAIL TO PROTECT ANOTHER!!!!
We rushed at the beast who dared to harm us, leaping into the air with claws outstretched. As the beast dared to look, we slashed it across the eyes, damaging the three on our right. Green blood poured from the hollow sockets as we landed, smelling our fruitful work. At this point only, the Creature could rain us in, only He could stop us from our hunt.
We then noticed that the beast had left its belly unprotected with its face covered, screeching in pain. How poor of a decision was that? Very. We made for a thrust into its torso, expanding our arms to gut the beast from the belly outward. Our conquest ended when our enemy screamed in agony and coved its wounds, but not before our claws were drenched in its blood. The beast tried to escape by bashing at the floor, intend on bringing the ship down along with it. We would not let that happen. We then raced toward our prey, leaned into it with our shoulder and rammed it in the collar bone. An audible snap and crack was our reward. Again, the beast yelped in pain, only bringing us closer to our victory.
We then noticed the blonde-haired prince raise his enchanted blade and strike the beast in the foot. Not the most effective area, but it did cause a good distraction. As the beast ceased its assaults on the wooden deck, we then noticed our sword at our feet, its blade tinted a dark green. We then raise arms and slide under the beast, bringing our sword up and into its chest. We listen closely as it reaches for the blade, rips it out, only to cause more blood to spill out. Its heart was fading, but not fast enough. We needed to end this now. The creature stood on its hands and knees, fighting for breath, blood still pouring from its wounds. We walked up to it, a mere three feet away. It lets out a weak snarl, a last attempt to frighten us. To answer its final snarl, we take a deep inhale and let loose another mighty roar. Fire again flowed from our lips as the behemoth writhed in pain, its cries muted over the fire’s crackling. It squirmed and whimpered for but a moment until we raise our blade and impale its head. Severing skull from spine, we end its pain. We’re not cruel. We never want to be.
I took a deep breath as the presence retreated into my head without a fight. With its work done, it was time for a well-earned nap. I turned at hearing the Queen walk up to me, holding a blood drenched sword, the same blood splattered over her armor. A green changeling held in her right gauntlet as she snapped his neck, the loud crack echoing throughout the ship. She nodded with a smile, “Well done. It seems my suspicions were true, you’re a mighty warrior indeed.”
“Yeah, but this was my first fight. And I imagine not the last.” I sighed, remembering how many I’d killed. It wasn’t pleasant by any means, but it needed to be done.
Carapace mulled it over with a hum. “True… Now, onto the main battle. Are you ready Obsidian?”
I took a breath, sensing the presence was ready for a fight again. But I couldn’t call it ‘the presence’ forever. Could I? Ah, for the heck of it, I’ll call it the Wolf. “Sure.”
Third POV:
She was known by many titles; Princess of the Sun, Harold of the Shining Star, Co-ruler of Equestria, and many more. In the time she’d gathered these many titles, she’d done things she was both proud and resentful of. One of the many bothersome things had lead to this moment, dangling above a changeling throne as the Queen herself rambled on to somepony about her “oh so brilliant plan”. Celestia seethed at Chrysalis’ carelessness for all her subjects, the Changeling Queen was always so arrogant.
Celestia had begun to back out again from the lack of air. Though it was enough to keep her, her family, and friends alive, it wasn’t enough for constant consciousness. That is, she would have if the enormous explosion hadn’t interrupted. Her eyes shot open and her head slowly turned in the thick green slime that was her prison. What she saw made her want nothing more than to fall back asleep and prey to high heaven that this was a dream. There, among the swarm of red changelings, standing with a snarl on its face was the huge wolf she’d found just outside of Canterlot. Its pure black pelt matted and drenched in changeling blood, four-inch claws out and hungry for even more. And eyes were dark as a starless void, save for the single golden rings in each. And to make her situation worse, both eyes stared at her and her fellow captives. Celestia’s face grew paler than usual, her blood froze, muscles tense.
The wolf drew close, almost below them, casting changelings aside like rag dolls or gutting them with no remorse. But then he turned toward what Celestia presumed to be the invading hive’s Queen, as she yelled at him over the frenzy. Soon after, the wolf made his way over to the seven-foot throne, pulling out a great sword of Equestrian make.
“Those swords are rarely used, yet it fits him perfectly. Ugh, and he just beheaded eight at once, great. That’s a picture I’ll never be rid of.” The Solar Queen thought, grimacing at the shear amount of bloodshed.
The wolf then raised his weapon above his head and cleaved the ancient throne in half before any of the nearby changelings could stop him. A bright flash erupted from the throne as it exploded. Celestia watched with narrowed eyes as the light grew brighter. “I hope he’s alright.”
Fang’s POV:
The throne exploded??!!! It freaking blew to high Heaven!!! I thought that was just because of all the love energy from the changelings in the show?! Well, now I’m defiantly reconsidering somethings about this world.
Ahem, that being said, I was then thrown back past all the flailing changelings and into a crumbling wall. After that, thrown over the tower’s side and was now dangling by a single hand over a multitude of sharp spikes. To top that, an entire army lay skewered on every spike. Not a pretty picture. Especially when you yourself could be doomed to that fate.
“HEY, DOWN HERE!! HHHEELLLOOO?? YO-HO!!” I shouted up toward the surface, preying that someone heard me. Thankfully, someone did.
“Oh, hello. How can I help you today?” I turned my head to see Discord in a desk clerk’s suit, clipboard in hand, and pair of round glasses to boot. He wore a straight face, his tone empty of emotion.
“Hey, first, could you help by saving me from a death plunge? Not fairing too good.” My claws dug deeper into the rock face, threatening to slip at any moment.
Discord didn’t break character and simply stated, “Quite.”
With a snap of his eagle talon, we appeared back in the ruins of the old changeling tower. Discord had shed his attire and was lounging in a hammock made of clouds, sipping from a crystal goblet filled with rainbow colored liquid. I also took stock of several others in the area. All facing me, and Carapace’s downed hive were the Main six, Celestia, Cadence, Shining Armor, King Thorax, Trixie, Starlight, Blueblood and his guard. But… where were Luna and Flurry?
As if to answer my unspoken question, I heard a soft whimpering coming from under an outcropping of stone. Crouching down, I looked under the rock to find a pair of sky blue eyes staring back at me, the soft cry of a child following. She must’ve gotten trapped under there when the throne was destroyed. This would not do. Standing back up, I gripped the ledge of the rock and heaved. My claws helped with the grip, slicing through the stone like butter. After lifting it to my chest, I changed my grip style and pushed up. I then extended my arms to their full length, took a step forward, and flipped the boulder over. The rock landed and shattered, making the little white Alicorn tremble.
I stepped back and crouched again, adopting a soft and kind expression as I looked the baby over. She was covered in dirt and scratches, a cut below her left eye, and a large bruise on her right wing. Her pink dress covered in grime. I then sheathed my claws as far as they would go. Only sticking out an inch. Using one hand for balance, and the other to reach for the kid, I slowly made my way to her.
“Hey.” I looked over to the young couple. Cadence was on the brink of terror, while Shining had that too, his was mostly the ‘hurt her and you’re dead’ stare. I looked back to Flurry, her gaze shifted between me and her parents. “You want to go see mama and dad?”
The little Alicorn nodded, hope rising in her eyes.
“Can you walk?” She nodded before speaking.
“I wnow h-how two walks, miswer.” I smiled at her cute manner of speech before standing, lending her a hand.
“Come on. I got you. It’s okay.” I smiled. Everypony gasped as the young princess took my hand and began to walk with me over to her parents. Flurry hadn’t begun a continuous pattern of walking yet, so she stumbled every few seconds. I wound up catching her more than once, to which I didn’t mind. I found it cute when she smiled.
We soon reached Princess Cadence, she was kneeling with tears in her eyes, arms stretched out to embrace her child. After a heart felt hug by both her parents, Flurry Heart turned to me with a wide smile. Cadence whispered into her ear for a moment.
“Twank wou, miswer woof.”
I couldn’t help but give her my widest smile, finding it cancer giving cute. I took a bow after a second, still wearing my smile. “You are quite welcome your highness.”
I then stood and turned to the royal couple. “Adorable kid you have. Very sweet.”
Cadence smiled with a relief filled sigh. “Thank you, kind sir.”
“Yeah, sweet enough to give him a stomach ache.” I heard a certain multi-colored mare snort. I flicked my ear in her direction, catching a smack delivered by Rarity.
“How dare you say such things about a kind soul? He could have hurt Flurry, but he didn’t, so I say that he’s good.” The white unicorn huffed, crossing her arms.
"Yeah, and what about the blood covering him head to toe? Huh? You call that 'kind'?" The two continued to bicker as I drowned them out. Choosing to focus on more important things.
I then turned to find Celestia facing my right. I followed her gaze to find Princess Luna, though, she wasn’t the same as the changeling made her out to be. She indeed had silver-tipped wings, dark blue fur, a wolf-like appearance, and teal eyes. But the look she had out did the changeling’s by five miles. Laced within her eyes were shimmering silver rings akin to my own gold ones. Around her eye lay streaks of white fur, curving at the edges to form waves of stars. From what I could see of her fur’s pattern, blue and black danced through the fur, curving and ending in sharp points like the sea’s waves. Silver runes flowed from her forehead, down the neck, and over her shoulders, disappearing at her palms. She wore a tattered black and white dress, no sleeves, and a white rose on the chest. My heart skipped a beat, my mind becoming a haze as I took in her shear beauty.
Luna looked at me with similar interest, though her eyes kept landing on mine. Seeing as I was asleep for a few weeks, she wouldn’t have gotten a look at them. However, her eyes suddenly widened with a gasp.
“What?” I asked, growing slightly worried.
“Y-your markings… they’re... changing.” A hand over her mouth followed, shivering in fear.
I raised a brow, what could she mean? I then turned to the others, all giving me similar reactions. “Does anyone have a mirror?”
“H-here.” Rarity asked as she teleported said mirror and quickly handed it over.
I took it and flipped it over to see my runes were indeed changing. A large amount of them were forming into a pair of jaws that surrounded my right eye, fangs ending above and below my pupil. It was designed in Norse or Celtic likeness, having thick lines and patterns swarming the wolf picture. I looked it over as the final pieces set into place. Not bad. Not bad at all.
I once again grew a smile. “The word ‘fierce’ comes to mind.”
“Hey, that’s my line!” Yelped Rainbow, shoving her face in mine.
I raised an eye brow at her. Why was she so defensive over little things? “Sorry.” Was all I said, mainly just wanting her to get off my back about it.
Dash snorted, steam rolling from her nostrils. “And while we’re here, why’d you come? To eat us? Kill us?”
I stared at her in shock, as did everyone else. Carapace had just awoken, as a scowl was directed at Rainbow.
“Uh, if I did, we wouldn’t be having this conversation. You’d be dead by now.” I huffed in disapproval. “And I don’t have any evil plans, mind you.”
Dash scoffed. “Yeah, and how do we know you didn’t turn Princess Luna into that?!” She jabbed a finger in said royal’s direction.
“If I did, I would apologize and ask for her forgiveness. No point in her holding a grudge. I’d rather we be friends than enemies.” I returned the pegasus’ scowl. “I was told by a changeling disguised as Luna that she was kidnapped by cultists, strapped to an altar, witnessed me be turned into this,” I gestured to myself. “And then turned into one herself.”
I then turned to Luna. “Is that right? Or am I wrong?”
She looked me in the eye. “No, that’s what happened.”
I nodded my thanks and turned back to Dash, she still had a frown but looked defeated. “Ok, fine. But I’m still keeping an eye on you.”
“Very well.” I crossed my arms and shrugged. Lord, please help me with this. I need your wisdom, guide me with a strong and gentle hand, I need it.
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Strikes a pose like a victoria's secrets model
"Like what you see?"
Sorry for the bad editing with the last two chapters, I guess that I got excited and wanted to flush them out. Not taking the time to properly edit them, sorry for that.😕
Curse you Flurry Heart for being so stinking cute!
9074341
*gets diabeetus*
9074341
Ha! Joke's on her. I already HAVE diabetes!
There is a lot that bothers me at this point in the story, too many random things or things that don't make sense, plot holes.
The royal sister's behavior during the first too chapters seem very odd for supposed changelings.
Why does the changeling Luna have his memories, memory reading is NEVER shown as a know changeling ability. It's explained that the cultists did it, which might be plausible if it was the real Luna, but then how did the changeling get his memories? If it was a natural changeling ability, then would Chrysalis not have used it during the wedding to better impersonate Cadance (eg. Ladybug dance).
Why was "Celestia" so suspicious of him? If Luna had all of his memories and he was asleep for 3 weeks, then "Luna" would have just told "Celestia" everything there is to know about him rendering the whole Q&A session pointless.
The whole thing with stumbling across Blueblood and Queen Carapace felt VERY inorganic and almost SCREAMED plot convenience.
Luna asked a lot about redemption and religion, which makes sense and is very in-character for Luna. If Luna was a changeling the whole time, then would the changeling not be far more interested in military tactics or advanced weapons technology, than religious redemption?
If Fang knows about MLP and "Luna" has his memories, then wouldn't she question him about it. Or in the case of the changeling, would they not IMMEDIATELY report Starlight, Discord, Trixie and Thorax's future plan to the Queen?
So many things make no sense.
To me it seems as though the Author wrote the first part of the story, then only later decided to make Celestia and Luna changeling. Because the whole changeling thing was VERY out of nowhere and had absolutely no buildup or foreshadowing what so ever.
10873163
Dis... This right here... I don't need no words, they all right here.